There is only one stand, on the upper tier of the western side of the Chinnaswamy Stadium here, that is open to the public for domestic matches such as the Vijay Hazare Trophy games. The crowd in that stand swelled towards the afternoon once word went out that Mumbai would chase in the semi-final as Hyderabad had chosen to bat.

The decent 246 that Hyderabad put up, thanks chiefly to a wonderfully-paced unbeaten 121 (132b, 8×4, 4×6) from the lesser-known Rohit Rayudu, only added to the crowd’s allure. The 1000 or so gathered weren’t disappointed as Rohit Sharma and Prithvi Shaw put on 73 in quick time before Rohit (17) fell.

By then Shaw, Indian cricket’s latest sensation, had moved to 54, albeit being let off twice in his 30s by Ravi Teja, both times while hooking Mohd Siraj. Strangely enough, despite Ajinkya Rahane joining Mumbai skipper and fellow India player Shreyas Iyer, half the crowd left once Shaw (61, 41b, 8×4, 2×6), who had some left shoulder issues at the start of the innings, too fell, castled by Hasan, like with Rohit earlier. The Bangalore cricket fans made it clear who their heroes were.

And as if the Gods too agreed with the spectators, the heavens opened after exactly 25 overs had been bowled by Hyderabad and ensured there would be no further play. By then, Mumbai had moved to 155-2 with Iyer on 55 (53b, 5×4, 2×6) and Rahane on 17. With the VJD par score being just 95 at that stage, Mumbai sealed their spot in the final where they await the winner of today’s semi-final between Delhi and Jharkhand.

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